2. IHT presentation 08/05/01 PRESENTING AND INTERPRETING HEALTH RISKS AND BENEFITS: THE ROLE OF THE INTERNET Flis Henwood, Sally Wyatt and Angie Hart

3. IHT presentation 08/05/01 Policy context Information seen as key resource in health care: ‘Information for Health’, ‘Building the Information Core’ etc. ICTs have central role in this ‘information for health’ strategy, for improving health information management at organisational and individual levels

4. IHT presentation 08/05/01 Consumer health information Ease of access to appropriate information seen as central for patient empowerment and consumer involvement in health care decision-making ICTs have central role in reducing health inequalities- for example, by overcoming problems of social isolation for some patient groups

5. IHT presentation 08/05/01 ICT-related projects in IHT programme NHS Direct and patient empowerment The use of Internet technologies for people with an acquired communications impairment (aphasia) Presenting and interpreting health risks and benefits: The role of the Internet

6. IHT presentation 08/05/01 Brief description A qualitative study of the information strategies employed by Internet users and non-users seeking information about the health risks and benefits of HRT and Viagra

7. IHT presentation 08/05/01 Key questions Is Internet empowering for healthcare consumers? Does it enable them to better assess health risks and benefits? How, why? Does it enable them to better negotiate with healthcare professionals regarding treatments? How, why?

8. IHT presentation 08/05/01 Which IHT? The Internet - having the potential to change the ways in which health risks and benefits are presented and interpreted HRT and Viagra - implicated in changing constructions of gender, sexuality and the ageing body

9. IHT presentation 08/05/01 Linking the two debates: optimistic scenario Greater availability of health information (for example, via the Internet) will lead to the emergence of more informed patients These ‘informed’ or ‘reflexive’ patients are better able to assess the risks and benefits of alternative treatments for themselves

10. IHT presentation 08/05/01 Linking the two debates: pessimistic scenario Internet inequalities: differential access to the skills, equipment and services required to take advantage of the information carried by new media Over-abundance of information available on-line leads to confusion and anxiety - lay users do not have the expertise to evaluate the information

11. IHT presentation 08/05/01 Internet print-out syndrome

12. IHT presentation 08/05/01 What we already know about Internet use Internet usage continues to grow Still relatively low - approx. 30 to 35% of the UK households Internet use concentrated amongst younger, well-educated males Ethnic minorities have poorer access to Internet than their white counterparts

13. IHT presentation 08/05/01 Health information on the Internet After pornography, health information is the most sought after information on the Internet The quality of the information varies considerably Medical professionals calling for a ‘gold standard’ or ‘kite mark’ for health-related web sites

14. IHT presentation 08/05/01 Some key features of the study Qualitative study Longitudinal study of ‘patient participants’ Comparative study of Internet users’ and non-users’ ‘information strategies’ Purposive sampling techniques Web content analysis Computer-generated logs

15. IHT presentation 08/05/01 Presentation of risk and benefits Comparison of different media re: presentation of risks and benefits of HRT and Viagra Advantages of Internet? E.g. hyperlinks to sites with alternative views Comparison of HRT and Viagra: discourses re: gender, sexuality and the ageing body

16. IHT presentation 08/05/01 ‘Ask Jeeves’ example: www.ask.co.uk What are the risks and benefits of HRT? What are the risks and benefits of Viagra?

17. IHT presentation 08/05/01 Interpretation of risks and benefits What can participants’ interactions with different media tell us about their interpretations? (where they start their search, how they navigate the media) How do they position themselves re: competing discourses re: gender, sexuality and the ageing body found re: HRT and Viagra

18. IHT presentation 08/05/01 Negotiations with health care professionals How do Internet users and non-users employ health information about the risks and benefits of HRT and Viagra in their negotiations with GPs and other HCPs? What are HCPs views on the use of the Internet and other media by patients seeking health information?

19. IHT presentation 08/05/01 Policy relevance: key issues and debates ‘Kite marking’ of health information on the Internet The informed patient: expert and lay knowledge Education for patients re: their enhanced role as ‘reflexive consumers’ Education for HCPs re: relationship with ‘informed’ and ‘reflexive’ patients

20. IHT presentation 08/05/01 User engagement: key groups Health Development Agency, Health promotion I4H, ‘Information for Patients and Public’ Health care professionals Health educators Health libraries Lay users

21. IHT presentation 08/05/01 Presenting and Interpreting Health Risks and Benefits: The Role of the Internet Dr Flis Henwoood, School of Information Management, University of Brighton Dr Sally Wyatt, Department of Communications, University of Amsterdam Dr Angie Hart, Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Research, University of Brighton